Chapter 58: The Shock of a Century-Old Soul Ring

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As the voice echoed from the distance, both groups, locked in a tense standoff, were stunned.

Everyone instinctively turned toward the direction the voice had come from.

There, emerging from the forest, were Lin Ye and Tang San.

"Boss Lin Ye!"

Upon seeing Lin Ye, the kids from Dorm Seven cheered excitedly.

"Lin Ye, you're finally here!"

Xiao Wu also beamed with joy. Though she wasn't particularly afraid of Xiao Chenyu, Lin Ye's strength far surpassed hers. Now that Lin Ye had arrived, their victory in the duel against the day students was almost certain.

"So, you're the leader of the work-study students?"

Xiao Chenyu narrowed his eyes as he sized up Lin Ye.

Unlike the typical work-study students, there was something different about Lin Ye. It was the first time Xiao Chenyu had seen a work-study student who could match his own charisma.

"That's right. I'm the leader of Dorm Seven. You want to challenge us?"

Lin Ye took a few steps forward, standing next to Xiao Wu, and calmly faced Xiao Chenyu.

"Of course! And when you lose, that little girl over there will become my pet rabbit!"

Xiao Chenyu sneered, pointing at Xiao Wu.

"We accept your challenge. But what's your wager?"

Lin Ye asked, his voice steady.

"Haha, if we lose, we'll be at your beck and call from now on!"

Xiao Chenyu laughed confidently, pounding his chest.

"Fine. We accept your wager. Just don't go back on your word when the time comes. If you do, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Lin Ye nodded but narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold warning flashing in his gaze as he looked at Xiao Chenyu.

"Go back on my word? As if!"

Xiao Chenyu scoffed, clearly dismissive of Lin Ye's words.

"So, how do you want to handle this duel? A chaotic free-for-all, or should we send out representatives to settle it?"

Lin Ye asked, his tone unbothered.

"Of course, we'll use representatives! If it's a free-for-all and someone gets injured, the academy might get involved, and we could be in trouble. But if only a few people get hurt in a duel, we can always claim it was just sparring."

Xiao Chenyu replied smugly. As someone who had been bullying his way through Nuoding Academy for a while, he was well-versed in how to skirt the rules.

"Alright. How many rounds? Best of three, or best of five?"

Lin Ye asked again.

"I'll let you decide."

Xiao Chenyu waved dismissively, clearly unconcerned. In his eyes, the day students were far superior to the work-study students, and no matter how hard they fought, the outcome was already decided.

"Let's go with best of five."

Before Lin Ye could respond, Xiao Wu jumped up enthusiastically.

She loved a good fight, and having more people participate would only make things more fun. A best-of-three would be over too quickly—best-of-five sounded far more exciting!

"Alright, best of five it is."

Lin Ye agreed readily. Whether it was three rounds or five, he wasn't worried in the slightest.

After all, Lin Ye was confident enough that he could take on the entire group of day students by himself. The number of rounds didn't matter to him.

"Fine, best of five. Send out your fighter!"

With the rules set, Xiao Chenyu motioned for his team to step aside.

"Lin Qiang, you go first!"

Turning to one of the boys behind him, a lean, dark-skinned youth, Xiao Chenyu ordered.

"Me? Are you sure?"

Lin Qiang pointed to himself, unsure.

"Of course, it's you! You don't expect me, the boss, to go first, do you? Get in there!"

Xiao Chenyu raised an eyebrow, clearly impatient.

"Oh, alright then."

With a scratch of his head, Lin Qiang stepped out from the crowd and moved into the clearing.

"We've sent someone out. Now it's your turn!"

Seeing Lin Qiang in position, Xiao Chenyu looked at Lin Ye and gestured for him to choose a fighter.

"I'll go! I'll go!"

Xiao Wu was practically bouncing with excitement, eager to join the fight.

"Stop messing around. They haven't sent out their strong fighters yet. We'll save you for last. Wang Sheng, who do you think should go first?"

Lin Ye cut her off with a frown and turned to Wang Sheng. After all, Wang Sheng had been at the academy longer and knew the strength of the students better than he did.

"Hmm... Let's have Xu Da go. His strength should match Lin Qiang's."

Wang Sheng thought for a moment and then turned to a thin, wiry boy with tanned skin who looked eager to fight.

"Leave it to me, Boss Lin Ye!"

Xu Da pounded his chest confidently and stepped forward to face Lin Qiang.

"Go, Xu Da! Knock Lin Qiang out!"

The work-study students behind him cheered loudly.

However, once Xu Da entered the fray, it was clear he was nervous.

"Lin Qiang, level six Battle Soul Master, spirit: hoe!"

Lin Qiang summoned his spirit, a sturdy hoe, and introduced himself.

"Xu Da, level six Battle Soul Master, spirit: sickle!"

Xu Da followed suit, summoning a sickle in response.

With introductions out of the way, the two began their duel.

Despite their similar soul power levels, Xu Da, who was malnourished, was no match for Lin Qiang in terms of physical strength. On top of that, his sickle was a short-handled weapon, putting him at a disadvantage against Lin Qiang's hoe.

Xu Da quickly found himself on the defensive. Finally, with a careless mistake, Lin Qiang landed a solid blow with the handle of his hoe, sending Xu Da flying across the grass, tumbling several times before coming to a stop.

"You've lost the first round!"

Xiao Chenyu sneered triumphantly.

"I'm sorry, Boss Lin Ye…"

Xu Da climbed to his feet, his face filled with guilt as he approached Lin Ye.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it."

Lin Ye reassured him with a wave.

"Wang Sheng, you're up next."

"Understood!"

Wang Sheng nodded seriously and stepped forward.

Being a sixth-year student with a soul power of nine, Wang Sheng had little trouble defeating Lin Qiang, who was already exhausted from his previous fight.

"It's one to one now."

After Wang Sheng's victory, Lin Ye calmly looked at Xiao Chenyu.

"Hmph! Liu Long, you're next!"

Xiao Chenyu snorted and turned to a tall, well-built boy beside him.

Liu Long was one of his most trusted subordinates, with a soul power level of nine as well. As a spirit weapon master, Liu Long was highly skilled with his weapon, making him stronger than Wang Sheng.

"Liu Long..."

Seeing Liu Long step forward, Wang Sheng clenched his fists nervously.

Weapon spirit masters had a significant advantage over beast spirit masters, especially in the early stages when beast spirit masters couldn't fully use their martial spirits.

"Hehe, Wang Sheng, we meet again."

As Liu Long summoned his martial spirit—a long staff—he smiled mockingly at Wang Sheng.

"You might as well give up now. You've never beaten me before."

"That was then, and this is now!"

Wang Sheng gritted his teeth in frustration. He refused to give in.

With the score tied at one to one, Wang Sheng knew that this fight could decide the outcome. He didn't have much confidence in Tang San or Xiao Wu, and Lin Ye couldn't fight every round by himself.

He had to give it everything he had.

"Well, aren't you brave? But the result will be the same!"

Liu Long twirled his staff and charged at Wang Sheng, swinging the weapon with precision.

"Come on, Wang Sheng! Show me what you've got!"

Despite Wang Sheng's best efforts, he simply couldn't close the distance between him and Liu Long. Liu Long's mastery of his staff made it difficult for Wang Sheng to get close enough to land a hit, and his arms were soon covered in bruises from the staff's relentless strikes.

Eventually, Liu Long sent Wang Sheng flying with a single blow.

"Boss, I'm sorry. I lost."

Wang Sheng forced himself to stand, cradling his bruised arms, and apologized to Lin Ye.

"You did your best."

Lin Ye wasn't angry. He had seen Wang Sheng's determination and effort, and that was enough. After all, Wang Sheng's spirit wasn't any weaker than Liu Long's—he was simply at a disadvantage in the early stages.

"If you couldn't win, you could have surrendered. We wouldn't blame you."

Lin Ye sighed, noticing the severe bruises on Wang Sheng's arms. He extended his right hand, and with a flash of white light, a delicate white Begonia flower appeared in his palm.

At the same time, a deep yellow soul ring slowly rose from Lin Ye's feet.

"A century-old soul ring?!"

From across the field, Xiao Chenyu's expression twisted in shock as he stared at the yellow soul ring. His heart surged with disbelief and panic.

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